October 29th, 2011 by PreparedPatient in Health Policy, Opinion
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The Obama administration has dealt a mighty blow to one part of the health reform law by effectively killing off the CLASS Act, which was to be a baby step in the development of a national program to pay for long-term care. The CLASS Act, short for Community Living Assistance Services and Support Act, was supposed to be a voluntary and federally backed insurance program for people to use to cover potential long-term care needs. The idea was for Americans to pay premiums into the fund during their working years. If they later became disabled and needed assistance, they would be entitled to a daily cash benefit of, say, $50 to buy services of a personal care attendant or make home improvements that would allow them to stay in their homes—the preference of most seniors. Advocates of the CLASS Act even envisioned that some of the benefit could be used for nursing home care.
The program, though, was never popular with insurance companies and politicians who listened to them, and the Act barely made it into the final bill. It ran into trouble from the beginning. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, was tasked with Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Prepared Patient Forum: What It Takes Blog*
October 29th, 2011 by Jessie Gruman, Ph.D. in Opinion
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“Being diagnosed with a serious illness is like being drop-kicked into a foreign country: you don’t know the language, you don’t understand the culture, you don’t have a map and you desperately want to find your way home.”
I wrote that following a cancer-related diagnosis six years ago that resulted in removal of a part of my colon. One year ago this week I was in the hospital longing for home while recovering from surgery for stomach cancer. Today I am traveling in Spain (feeling fine and minus the drop-kicked part) and am reminded of this analogy every day.
For example, I couldn’t figure out how to punch my ticket on the city bus. The driver told me in Spanish that I barely comprehend to turn the ticket over. No luck. His voice rose: “You put it in upside down.” Again, no luck. He shouted: “Use the other damn machine!”
Stupid tourist.
There’s a man who sits at the front desk at the clinic where I get most of my cancer care. He greets every person who walks past his desk as though Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Prepared Patient Forum: What It Takes Blog*
October 29th, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in Opinion, Research
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24 years old female presents with several week history of progressive stomach pains, substernal chest discomfort, heart palpitations, loss of appetite, headache, insomnia, and growing lump sensation in her throat. Physical exam was essentially normal.
Can this previously healthy female have suddenly developed reflux, globus, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, brain tumor, and throat cancer with possible overlying thyroid disorder? Or perhaps has she contracted some other horrific mystery disease?
Maybe…
But maybe none of the above…
What if I told you she will be giving a doctoral dissertation for her Master’s next week for which she is ill-prepared given a recent breakup with her boyfriend of 5 years and a growing distaste of her school classmates who have been less than supportive.
In other words, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*
October 29th, 2011 by Medgadget in Research
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Researchers have successfully tested the abilities of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) to function as a so called “magnetic tongue”. Antonio Randazzo, Anders Malmendal, Ettoro Novellino and their team reported their findings in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Sensing the smell and flavor of food is a very complex physiological and cognitive process. A food’s components and the taster’s experience at the moment of tasting influence the process. To be able to objectively measure the sensory descriptor, one needs human sensory tests not involving persons as taste testers. Examples of human sensory tests currently used are the electronic nose and the electronic tongue. Current instruments can only Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
October 29th, 2011 by Linda Burke-Galloway, M.D. in Better Health Network
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Infertility or the inability to have a baby can be devastating and affects approximately 10 percent of the female population. There are many conditions that prevent women from having children including Mayer Rokitansky Kuster Hauser syndrome (or MKHS). MKHS is a rare disorder that affects a woman’s ability to conceive. At present, for every 10,000 women, only 1 to 2 will be affected. Both Sara Ottoson of Sweden and Melina Arnold of Australia have this condition. MKHS is characterized by the absence of a vagina and part of the cervix. Patients with this condition have normal breast development and functioning ovaries. Genetically, they also have female or double X-chromosomes and look like normal women. The problem comes to light during adolescence when a teen fails to have a period. The condition is also known as Vaginal Agenesis because they are born without a true vagina, a problem that can be corrected through surgical and non-surgical procedures. Unfortunately, they are unable to have children and usually Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway*